JUSTICE FOR INTERNMENT OF JAPANESE AMERICANS

WHEREAS, during World War II, 120,313 persons of Japanese ancestry, most of whom were American citizens, were uprooted from their homes in the spring of 1942 and were incarcerated in government detention camps without the benefit of trial or hearings; and

WHEREAS, Americans of German or Italian ancestry were not subject to such internment; nor were Americans of Japanese ancestry living in Hawaii forced from their homes and into detention; and

WHEREAS, the consequences of evacuation and detention in camps caused immeasurable human damages, such as the loss of their basic rights of American citizenship, the loss of their individual freedom, the destruction of their personal human dignity, the disruption of their careers and education, loss of businesses and homes, and the psychological and emotional trauma of having been innocent victims dis­criminated against and imprisoned for three and one half years; and

WHEREAS, the Presidential Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians conducted the first official inquiry from 1981 to 1982 with 20 days of hearings and testimony from more than 750 witnesses collected, reviewed, and analyzed materials from government and university archives and relevant historical writings; and

WHEREAS, the Commission Report states that a grave injustice was done to American citizens and resident aliens of Japanese ancestry whose exclusion, removal, and detention by the United States during World War Il was not justified by military necessity but instead the decisions were based on race prejudice, war hysteria and a failure of political leadership; and

WHEREAS, The AFL-CIO Executive Committee on February 23, 1984, went on record supporting pending legislation in Congress to provide monetary redress for the former internees:

RESOLVED, that the AFT calls upon the Congress and the President of the United States of America to finally implement the recommendations of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians; and that the federation specifically endorses the following Commission recommendations:

• That Congress formally apologize to those Americans of Japanese ancestry who were interned;

• That the President offer pardons to  those convicted of violating laws during the interment period whose violation was based on a refusal to accept racially discriminatory treatment; and

• That the Attorney General pay $20,000.00 in compensation to each surviving internee.

RESOLVED, that the AFT supports educational campaigns so that future generations of Americans may learn to prevent similar injustices to other groups; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT endorses this resolution and conveys this message to the members of the Congress and the President of the United States of America.